8

A soldier patrols a snow clad forest . A plane's engine is heard spluttering and a plane crashes . The soldier comes across the pilot and takes him prisoner but the pilot doesn't want to end up in POW camp

There's a fair bit wrong with this short . There's no dialogue and it tries to be ambiguous by taking place In an unnamed setting and time frame because the uniforms and aircraft with turbo prop engines suggest it's the Second World War , but that said it's near impossible to visualise on screen a generic war that is timeless and could be taking anywhere or at anytime

But this is not what 8 concerns itself with . Instead director Acim Vasic and the production team entirely concentrate on the audio , an often overlooked part of film making . There is no dialogue and everything is told by action and sound . It is impressive and even if you can work out what the pay off is going to be as I did the technicalities of sound mix and sound editing kept me engaged within the film

Acim Vasic should be applauded for this 10 minute short film set in a snowy forest in an unknown country, mainland Europe, I guess and an unknown war, the second world war I reckon.

O is shot down behind enemy lines. X captures him and marches him through a snowy forest. Each time O gets an opportunity to escape, he is gunned down by X.

There is an opportunity to turn the tables when X steps on a landmine and O grabs the rifle.

It is a simple plot with not dialogue apart from a clacking sound made by X each time he wants O's attention.

The short is regarded as absurd but I did not view it as a comedy. A game of noughts and crosses played out in real life. Very well photographed, lovely sound effects and the director showed a lot of skill in making this short.

as witness of a confrontation who seems the right manifesto against war. because, in fact, this is the motif who gives to this short film a special charm. two soldiers. a sort of cat-and-mouse game. and perfect landscape. the change of roles. and the captivity . and, sure, the owl. it is impressive the manner to give, in less than 10 minutes, a subtle, powerful and convincing message, using the black humor as basic tool. because it is one of films who are surprising for the smart solution to a crisis who seems a chess game.

When an enemy fighter pilot is shot down behind enemy lines he is captured by a soldier and transported through the snowy woodland. This is the start of the short film which sees the conflict between the two play out in a series of small but engaging ways. As a plot it is simple perhaps but I enjoyed it and the style of delivery helped it. Although there is no comment on the war or soldiers, there is a certain absurdity to the plot and the delivery but at the same time the director has managed to capture the look and feel of a "proper" war movie. Shooting in the snowy wood is very well done and the film looks very good and plays well with many shots where you are not sure if it is a comedy or a drama (but in a good way).

The acting is solid although I personally did not like the noise the soldier made in place of dialogue – I think the decision to have no dialogue or language was a good one, just not sure about that noise in particular (as opposed to a whistle or something less abrasive and odd). Despite this the delivery is very good and it manages to be dramatic while being absurd and I found it quite enjoyable in its content and style.